As you well know, your students need to have a clear understanding of prefixes and suffixes, but often these concepts (especially suffixes!) can be tricky to teach. Of course your activities need to be related to the standard, but you also want them to be fun! But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. This post is your one-stop shop for effective and engaging lessons that will

Minds in Bloom is so excited to welcome Ofer Tirosh of Tomedes to the blog! Ofer has written a fantastic post discussing the importance of inspiring children to love languages and translation, including information on why kids’ brains are better adapted to learning languages (as opposed to adults’ brains) and games that you can play in the classroom to help students practice translation. We hope

Hey teacher friends! This is Tanya G. Marshall from The Butterfly Teacher! I am so excited to guest post again for Minds in Bloom! It is an honor to join this community of passionate educators who are looking for ways to engage students and improve learning. This post shares tips for helping students read more deeply and comprehend better. These close reading strategies can be

We are so excited to welcome a new guest blogger today, Terri Maples! Terri is a second grade teacher and spends a lot of time teaching reading fluency in her classroom. Her post today is all about fluency fun in her classroom and how she uses Rachel’s winter-themed reading fluency task cards to engage her students in practicing their reading skills. Keep reading to get

The standardized testing season will be here before you know it. Whether this time of year excites you or frightens you, it’s time to prepare your students for the big test. Teaching them test-taking vocabulary can really help. Not only will your students perform better on the text, they will also gain confidence in their abilities to understand and respond to difficult questions. Read on

We’re excited to have Sydney from Love, Laugh, Teach guest posting for us today! Her post includes helpful insight and advice for developing critical thinkers in the classroom. As teachers, we all know how important critical thinking is, but sometimes it feels like an abstract concept to teach. Read on to learn Sydney’s suggestions! Developing critical thinkers in the classroom is essential to creating a

It was 2008, my first year teaching kindergarten, and building rapport with students was not at the top of my to do list. I was excited, nervous, and mostly just lost! It wasn’t my first year of teaching. I had been in the classroom for four years; however, I taught Pre-Kindergarten and at a private preschool. This was public school. To top it off, I

Writing and math aren’t often in the same sentence, but as many educators know, they should be! Teaching students how to write in math workshop is important, because through writing they can demonstrate their understanding of math problems and strategies. This guest post from Tracy at Wild Child Designs shares great tips for getting students writing in math through clear modeling, teacher guidance, and independent

STEM subjects are on the rise, and for good reasons. By studying science, technology, engineering, and math, kids will develop the skills needed for lucrative careers and to lead the next generation into the future. However, while parents and teachers see the benefits, kids aren’t sticking with STEM. Nearly a third of college students who began pursuing a STEM degree transferred out of the field.

Self-regulation is the ability to calm yourself down when you are upset and cheer yourself up when you are down. In the classroom, students may need help with self-regulating their emotions and managing their behaviors. The ability for students to learn how to manage their own emotions and behaviors can be vital for them to be able to learn in a school environment. Teaching students

This giveaway is over, but don’t despair because I don’t want you to walk away empty handed. Grab this exclusive and limited time freebie, just for stopping by! It’s back to school time and you could win some serious $$$ to spend on your favorite back to school products! Just enter this give away for your chance to win one of 7 gift cards.

Minds in Bloom is thrilled to have Ann from Little Library of Learning guest blogging for us today! Ann has written a great post for us all about an incredible app called Quiver. When you’re using Quiver in the classroom (or in the library), you provide your students with coloring sheets and assign them to color them in a way that aligns with your lesson

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the thought of teaching all of the different nonfiction text features? Don’t be! We’re excited to have Molly from the Sassy Apple guest blogging for us today, and Molly has written an excellent post all about how to successfully teach nonfiction text features. Her ideas are accessible for both teachers and students, and she’s included a freebie at the end.

Minds in Bloom is excited to welcome Michelle from The IgnitED Teacher to our blog today! Michelle has written a really helpful post about classroom management tips for high-poverty students. Classrooms where the population of students is at-risk tend to be common places for struggles with behavior management, which is often understandable when you consider that students frequently choose to misbehave to distract from the

We are excited to welcome Erin to the blog today! Erin has written a really inspiring post about ways to add academics to video games, which is something I’m sure many teachers would shy away from. Read on to learn more about Erin’s ideas and suggestions! At the end of the school year last May, a parent asked to speak to me after class. She

The last few weeks of school are a great time to do some of the those fun enrichment activities that you may have had to put off in order to fit in all that is required. Make some memories, get outside, and start thinking about the long days of summer ahead. Here are some ideas! Write a Letter: Some ideas include having students write a letter